Look at This Awesomely Bad '90s Mall Fashion (You Know You Wanna)

Remember how the '90s are back (ahem, Vena Cava, Alexander Wang)? Let's just hope these '90s never ever come back.
Some photographs taken by Michael Galinksy at a mall in the summer of 1990 are making the rounds on the interwebs.
Unfortunately some of this early 90s fashion has crept back: overalls, acid wash, cropped bombers, sigh...as long as full weekends devoted to hanging out at the mall and mullets don't come back into fashion maybe it will be OK.
Check out the photos.

Remember how the '90s are back (ahem, Vena Cava, Alexander Wang)? Let's just hope these '90s never ever come back.
Some photographs taken by Michael Galinksy at a mall in the summer of 1990 are making the rounds on the interwebs.
Unfortunately some of this early 90s fashion has crept back: overalls, acid wash, cropped bombers, sigh...as long as full weekends devoted to hanging out at the mall and mullets don't come back into fashion maybe it will be OK.
Check out the photos.

Some photographs taken by Michael Galinksy at a mall in the summer of 1990 are making the rounds on the interwebs.

Unfortunately some of this early 90s fashion has crept back: overalls, acid wash, cropped bombers, sigh...as long as full weekends devoted to hanging out at the mall and mullets don't come back into fashion maybe it will be OK.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

It was clear Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock were in a 90s mindset before the models even set foot on the runway. While we waited for the show to start (it ran about 40 minutes late) staffers passed out 'Zina Cava, Vena Cava's 'zine. They got their fashionable friends to contribute--Andy Spade, Kate Young, Ariel Shulman and Shipley & Halmos, to name a few--and whipped a nostalgia packed treat that kept me more than occupied during the 40 minute delay. I cringed when I saw a photo of a Contempo Casuals tag and chuckled at the page where Buhai and Mayock slapped their faces on ever model in that iconic CK One ad.
The first page of Vena Cava's 'zine read, "all content inspired by the 90s"--and so was their fall 2011 collection. Like, very literally inspired. Not grunge Seattle '90s like we saw at Nicholas K or even at Charlotte Ronson last season but the glammed-out power suit, "working girls," supermodel (we're talking Cindy, Linda, Christy, Naomi here) '90s. There were boned corset tops, structured bodices with cutouts, and maxi skirts in a crinkled chiffon that reminded me of the crinkled floral print broomstick skirts I used to wear from the Limited Too. And to really hit you over the head with the '90s theme, models were wearing bronze structured necklaces by Dannijo that looked like chokers and berets by Yestadt Millinery.

My generation, which is also Alexander Wang's generation, is very sentimental about the '90s. We were teenagers back then, which means my first real fashion statement was a plaid baby doll dress, and the first fashion collection that directly influenced my style was Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis. So I get Alex Wang's obsession with the '90s.
When it comes to his Fall 2011 reflection on the era, there was some good, some bad, and some boring. Instead of focusing on the grunge of 1992, Wang looked more to Tom Ford at Gucci for inspiration. No, there weren't satin suits, but there were satin, sparkly skinny pants in pink, purple, and grey. There were also satin skirts cut up like streamers below the knee, paired with matching mohair sweaters in champagne and pale pink. Add on some furry stripper shoes--very Carrie Bradshaw circa 1998--and a satin poncho fit for Gwyneth Paltrow in her Brad Pitt days, and you've got a quintessentially late-'90s wardrobe. (His use of Swarovski crystals in the pants felt naturally '90s, too, and not in a bad way.)